Man who rode horse while drunk gets time served

Jan. 9, 2013

Written by

the Associated Press

BUNNELL, Fla. — A Florida man accused of riding his horse while intoxicated during a police chase has changed his plea and was sentenced to time served.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal reports 29-year-old Charles Larkin Cowart pleaded no contest Tuesday to obstructing an officer without violence and interfering with railroad tracks. He originally pleaded not guilty to the Sept. 24 ride through Bunnell, north of Orlando.

Circuit Judge David Walsh also sentenced Cowart to three years of probation. He had been held in the Flagler County Jail on $7,000 bail.

Police say Cowart told them he was on his way to this grandmother’s house. He refused their request to get off the horse and took off. Eventually, the horse became exhausted and Cowart ran. He was arrested a short time later.